Running without Valerie was certainly a factor in this race. However, I believe the girls ran pretty well. Even running without Val, our team average time was better than last year at this race. You have to be excited about that.

For the mile (1,600) I felt pretty good running the race like that. I was even more nervous for the 800, but I knew if I felt bad after running that mile time then I'd be concerned, but I was more awake and warmed up, so it was good.

I told the girls that the pre-rankings are a sign of respect. However, it only means that we must work harder. I know this team will rise to the occasion when the times present themselves.

It feels pretty good to do it twice in a row. It was a really good race for me on a track that's kicked my butt in the past, so it felt great to have two good runs.

We kept fighting. The girls never gave up. That shot just didn't go. You can see we are pretty evenly matched.

Our strength is inside, but when those other girls are hitting shots like that it make us pretty tough to beat. You can't just stop one of us, you have to stop all of us.